American Bully Pitbull Puppies need to be house trained in order to understand that it’s not okay to eliminate in your house. House training is a simple process, but one that must be carried out positively (without punishment that scares the American Bully Pitbull puppy) and consistently, following two main guidelines: 1) prevent indoor accidents through confinement and close supervision, and 2) take your American Bully Pitbull puppy outside on a frequent and regular schedule and reward them for eliminating where you want them to go. House soiling can occur in any location in the home but sometimes American Bully Pitbull puppy parents will notice that their American Bully Pitbull puppy soils more in certain locations, such as infrequently used rooms or on a specific kind of surface. Very young American Bully Pitbull puppies (under 12 weeks old) don’t have complete bladder control and might not be able to hold it very long. Older American Bully Pitbull puppies who have had accidents might not have been house trained completely.

 

Why American Bully Pitbull puppies You Thought Were Housetrained Might Have Accidents

- Too Young to Be Fully House Trained

Some American Bully Pitbull puppies, especially those under 12 weeks of age, haven’t developed bladder or bowel control yet.

 

- Incomplete House Training

Many American Bully Pitbull puppies simply haven’t learned where to eliminate - or they haven’t learned a way to tell their people when they need to go out. Some American Bully Pitbull puppies house soil only under specific conditions. For example, your American Bully Pitbull puppy may soil when they're home alone for long periods of time, first thing in the morning, sometime during the night, only when you’re not watching or only in infrequently used rooms. Other American Bully Pitbull puppies may urinate or defecate whenever they feel the need to go.

 

- Breakdown in House Training

Sometimes American Bully Pitbull puppies who seem to be house trained at one point regress and start soiling in the house again.

 

Other Reasons Your American Bully Pitbull puppy Might House Soil

- Urine Marking

If your American Bully Pitbull puppy is over three months of age and urinates small amounts on vertical surfaces, he may be urine marking. Young dogs engaging in this behavior often raise their hind legs when urinating.

 

- Separation Anxiety

If your American Bully Pitbull puppy only soils when they're left alone in your home, even for short periods of time, they may have separation anxiety. If this is the case, you may notice that they appear nervous or upset right before you leave them by themself or after you’ve left (if you can observe them while they're alone).

 

- Submissive / Excitement Urination

Your American Bully Pitbull puppy may have a submissive / excitement urination problem if they only urinates during greetings, play, physical contact, scolding or punishment. If this is the case, you may notice your American Bully Pitbull puppy displaying submissive postures during interactions. They may cringe or cower, roll over on their belly, tuck or lower their tail, duck their head, avert their eyes, flatten their ears or all of the above.

 

Medical Causes for House Soiling

It’s always a good idea to visit your American Bully Pitbull puppy’s veterinarian to rule out medical causes for house soiling. Some common medical reasons for inappropriate urination and defecation follow.

 

- Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

American Bully Pitbull puppies with urinary tract infections usually urinate frequently and in small amounts. They may also lick their genital areas more than usual.

 

- Gastrointestinal Upset

If your American Bully Pitbull puppy was house trained but now defecates loose stools or diarrhea in your house, they may have gastrointestinal upset for some reason.

 

- Change in Diet

If you’ve recently changed the amount or type of food you give your American Bully Pitbull puppy, they may develop a house soiling problem. Often, after a diet change, an American Bully Pitbull puppy will defecate loose stools or diarrhea. They may also need to eliminate more frequently or on a different schedule than before the diet change.

 

- Miscellaneous Medical Causes

Other medical causes include abnormalities of the genitalia that cause incontinence (loss of bladder control), various diseases that cause frequent elimination and medications that cause frequent elimination.

 

How to House Train Your American Bully Pitbull puppy

House training is accomplished by rewarding your American Bully Pitbull puppy for eliminating where you want them to go (outside) AND by preventing them from urinating or defecating in unacceptable places (inside the house). You should keep crating and confinement to a minimum, but some amount of restriction is usually necessary for your American Bully Pitbull puppy to learn to “hold it.” (To learn how to crate train your American Bully Pitbull puppy, please see our article, Weekend Crate Training.)

 

- How Long It Will Take

Some American Bully Pitbull puppies learn when and where not to eliminate at a very young age, while others take longer to understand. Most American Bully Pitbull puppies can be reasonably housetrained by four to six months of age. However, some American Bully Pitbull puppies are not 100% reliable until they are eight to twelve months of age. Some American Bully Pitbull puppies seem to catch on early but then regress. This is normal. Keep in mind that it may take a while for your American Bully Pitbull puppy to develop bowel and bladder control. They may be mentally capable of learning to eliminate outdoors instead of inside, but he may not yet be physically capable of controlling their body.

 

- How Often Your American Bully Pitbull puppy Needs to Go Out

All American Bully Pitbull puppeis are different, but an American Bully Pitbull puppy can usually only hold their waste for the same number of hours as their age in months. (In other words, a four-month-old American Bully Pitbull puppy should not be left alone for more than four consecutive hours without an opportunity to go outside.) They can last longer at night, however, since their inactive (just like we can). By the time your American Bully Pitbull puppy is about four months old, they should be able to make it through the night without going outside.

 

House Training Steps

 

1. Keep your American Bully Pitbull puppy on a consistent daily feeding schedule and remove food between meals.

 

2. Take the American Bully Pitbull puppy outside on a consistent schedule. American Bully Pitbull puppies should be taken out every hour, as well as shortly after meals, play and naps. All American Bully Pitbull puppies should go out first thing in the morning, last thing at night and before being confined or left alone.

 

3. In between these outings, know where your American Bully Pitbull puppy is at all times. You need to watch for early signs that they need to eliminate so that you can anticipate and prevent accidents from happening. These signs include pacing, whining, circling, sniffing or leaving the room. If you see any of these, take your American Bully Pitbull puppy outside as quickly as possible. Not all American Bully Pitbull puppies learn to let their caretakers know that they need to go outside by barking or scratching at the door. Some will pace a bit and then just eliminate inside. So watch your American Bully Pitbull puppy carefully.

 

4. If you can’t watch your American Bully Pitbull puppy, they must be confined to a crate or a small room with the door closed or blocked with a baby gate. Alternatively, you can tether them to you by a leash that does not give them much leeway around you (about a six-foot leash). Gradually, over days or weeks, give your American Bully Pitbull puppy more freedom, starting with the freedom of a small area, like the kitchen, and gradually increasing it to larger areas, or multiple rooms, in your home. If they eliminate outside, give them some free time in the house (about 15 to 20 minutes to start), and then put them back in their crate or small room. If all goes well, gradually increase the amount of time they can spend out of confinement.

 

5. Accompany your American Bully Pitbull puppy outside and reward them whenever they eliminate outdoors with praise, treats, play or a walk. It’s best to take your American Bully Pitbull puppy to the same place each time because the smells often prompt American Bully Pitbull puppy to eliminate. Some American Bully Pitbull puppies will eliminate early on in a walk. Others need to move about and play for a bit first.

 

6. If you catch your American Bully Pitbull puppy in the act of eliminating inside, clap sharply twice, just enough to startle but not scare him. (If your American Bully Pitbull puppy seems upset or scared by your clapping, clap a little softer the next time you catch them in the act.) When startled, the American Bully Pitbull puppy should stop in mid-stream. Immediately run with them outside, encouraging them to come with you the whole way. (If necessary, take your American Bully Pitbull puppy gently by the collar to run them outside.) Allow your American Bully Pitbull puppy to finish eliminating outside, and then reward them with happy praise and a small treat. If they have nothing to eliminate when they get outside, don’t worry. Just try to be more watchful of them in the house in the future. If your American Bully Pitbull puppy has an accident but you don’t catch them in the act and only find the accident afterward, do nothing to your American Bully Pitbull puppy. They cannot connect any punishment with something they did hours or even minutes ago.

 

- Additional House Training Tips

• Clean accidents with an enzymatic cleanser to minimize odors that might attract the American Bully Pitbull puppy back to the same spot.

• Once your American Bully Pitbull puppy is house trained in your home, they may still have accidents when visiting other homes. That’s because American Bully Pitbull puppies need to generalize their learning to new environments. Just because they seem to know something in one place does NOT mean that they’ll automatically know that thing everywhere. You’ll need to watch your American Bully Pitbull puppy carefully when you visit new places together and be sure to take them out often.

• Likewise, if something in your American Bully Pitbull puppy’s environment changes, they may have a lapse in house training. For example, an American Bully Pitbull puppy might seem completely house trained until you bring home a large potted tree - which may look to them like a perfect place to lift his leg!

 

House training does require an investment of time and effort - but it can be done! If you’re consistent, your hard work will pay off. Hang in there! If you need help, don’t hesitate to contact a qualified professional, such as a Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT), a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist (CAAB or Associate CAAB) or a board-certified veterinary behaviorist (Dip ACVB).

 

What NOT to Do

• Do not rub your American Bully Pitbull puppy’s nose in his waste.

• Do not scold your American Bully Pitbull puppy for eliminating indoors. Instead, if you catch them in the act, make a noise to startle them and stop them from urinating or defecating. Then immediately show your American Bully Pitbull puppy where you want them to go by running with them outside, waiting until they go, and then praise and rewar them.

• Do not physically punish your American Bully Pitbull puppy for accidents (hitting with newspaper, spanking, etc.). Realize that if your American Bully Pitbull puppy has accidents in the house, you failed to adequately supervise them, you did not take them outside frequently enough, or you ignored or were unaware of their signals that they needed to go outside.

• Do not confine your American Bully Pitbull puppy to a small area for hours each day, without doing anything else to correct the problem.

• Do not crate your American Bully Pitbull puppy if they're soiling in the crate.

• If your American Bully Pitbull puppy enjoys being outside, don’t bring them inside right after they eliminate or they may learn to “hold it” so that they can stay outside longer.

• Do not clean with an ammonia-based cleanser. Urine contains ammonia. Cleaning with ammonia could attract your American Bully Pitbull puppy back to the same spot to urinate again. Instead, use an enzymatic cleaner. You can find one at some grocery stores or any major pet store.